* CeBIT wraps up all the fast-moving developments in the Internet worldwide
* More than 1.5 billion people are now online
Online banking, Enterprise 2.0, Open Source, blogs, wikis, web TV, social networks and online conferencing - it's all made possible only by the Internet. This is why CeBIT, the world's most important trade fair for the digital industry, is making the 'web society' the No.1 topic at the next show (3 to 8 March 2009). 'More than 1.5 billion people are now online.
Every day we are seeing new applications, new programs, new content. More and more people are now getting their information from the Internet and making Internet usage part of their everyday lives. This is why we want to portray all aspects of the Internet society here at CeBIT under the catch-all title 'Webciety', says Ernst Raue, member of the Board of Deutsche Messe AG in Hannover. 'Exactly 20 years after the idea of the World Wide Web was first conceived at the CERN research institute, CeBIT 2009 will document the next stage in the evolution of the Internet.'
The concept of the 'Webciety' will be a tangible presence across all the display categories at next year's CeBIT, whether in business software, mobile solutions for home and office or in the specialized solutions developed for the banking industry and the public sector. The first port of call for visitors is a dedicated display area in Hall 6. 'Here CeBIT will demonstrate how the world is steadily evolving into a network-based society - the Webciety. The show documents the workings of the Internet in full, pulling together all the dynamic trends that are turning the information superhighway into a global meta-medium', promises Raue.
The businesses that make up CeBIT's target audience are the principal drivers of Internet growth. 'The business processes on which today's international business world depends could not function without the Internet. The exhibiting companies at CeBIT are the key drivers of technological progress. Nearly every company is investing considerable sums of money in the development of new applications.'
Just how much potential the international business community sees in this market can be judged from the strong trend towards consolidation in the industry. 'Takeovers are happening virtually every day, some of them involving billions. There is now fierce competition to offer the best solution on the web', points out Raue. And: the Internet is finally going mobile. 'This will give new impetus to the market in the very near future.'
The Internet now influences not only the business world, but the media habits of people around the globe. Studies have shown that young people especially get most of their information about current political affairs from the Internet. Social networking sites are hugely popular now, while knowledge and entertainment are increasingly being made available in digital form.
'The partnership between CeBIT and the US state California in 2009 opens up all kinds of exciting possibilities. California is the birthplace of new trends in the webciety, which are changing the world we live in faster than ever before. We will be bringing all this together at CeBIT 2009', adds Raue.
- Hartwig von Saß-
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